Stewart Slides into Oscar Spotlight

He knows the ins and outs of doing a "Daily Show," but Jon Stewart also realizes Oscar
night is a showcase unto itself.

The Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Comedy Central staple becomes the latest funnyman to preside over the movie industry's top ceremony as first-time host of the Academy Awards, as ABC broadcasts the 78th annual edition live Sunday, March 5. Originating from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, this year's event boasts many independent-film nominees, from "Brokeback Mountain" and "Capote" to "Crash" and "Good Night, and Good Luck."

"I think that for me, the key is going to be lack of preparation," Stewart says half-jokingly about being Oscar's new point man. "That's how I'm going to keep from getting too nervous, by just not thinking about it or focusing on it. It's a little thing called denial. When I get there that night, I'll be nauseous, but that'll be fine."

While some performers may set their sights on being an Academy Awards host, Stewart maintains that for him, "it came out of the blue. It's not something I had particularly even thought about. It's one of those calls you get that's a little surreal at first, just based on the company you suddenly keep when you join the group of people who have hosted this."

Many award-show producers feel comedians are ideal hosts on such occasions, but Stewart isn't so sure.

"I guess it depends on the comedian," he says. "It's sort of shaken out that way. It's yeoman work to host these things, and I think that's where comedians have tended to be the blue-collar workers of entertainers, somewhere between mime and stripper. You're traffic-copping."

Still, expectations can run high for a well-known humorist to leave his own mark on the Oscars, as Crystal did with opening numbers that inserted him into clips from nominated films.

"The important thing to do," Stewart reasons, "is to try to lose yourself in what it is. Listen, anytime you're standing in front of a 30-foot gold statue, it becomes pretty clear just who the star of the show is. In that sense, you're really there so that everyone has a pleasing time. I think the reason they have comedians do this is that they realize 80 percent of this audience is going home losing."

George Clooney has made Academy Award history by scoring three nominations for two different movies in the same year. Up for best supporting actor for "Syriana," he's also in the running as director and co-writer of "Good Night, and Good Luck."

Geared as it is toward topicality, "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" has mentioned Oscar nominees often. However, Stewart doesn't fear he's already used up his possible material.

"To a large extent, it's really a particular night. As the host, I don't think you're thinking about creating a lasting legacy of 'Syriana' humor. You're really thinking about what fits in the world of that night."

Similarly, Stewart isn't too concerned about how others think his trademark glibness will go over on Oscar night.

"It's absolutely natural to have preconceptions of what's going to go down," he allows. "I would, too, if I were watching ... but you just don't know. It could be incredibly fun and funny, or it could spark international incidents that cause the world to tumble into a death spiral. But isn't that exciting?"

Stewart is coming to the Academy Awards as a complete novice, since he's never even attended the ceremony before.

"When I was working for MTV, I covered it to some extent," he says. "I got to stand outside one of the parties behind the roped-off line. I was penned in, but I at least have a sense of it. I assume I won't walk out there and think, 'Wait a minute! They're all facing me? What's going on?'"

Having appeared in "Big Daddy," "The Faculty" and "Playing by Heart" among other features, Stewart has an insider's idea of how the movie world operates, although he professes it's very limited.

"Here's an example," he says. "When they say, 'This is your mark,' that's where you're supposed to stop. At a certain point when I did my first movie, they said, 'OK, forget it. Let's just put sandbags down.' They literally had to make a physical barrier that could stop me before I walked directly into the camera."

The year 2006 has started in a big way for Stewart. Not only does he have the highly visible Oscar gig, he and wife Tracey became second-time parents last month, adding daughter Maggie Rose to the family that also includes Nathan, who will be 2 in July. Stewart isn't getting carried away with his good fortune, though.

"The Academy probably knew to some extent that the movies were going to be less mainstream, so they had to work pretty hard to find a host who was even less known. I think they accomplished that."